I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Zhou Wenhui guessed correctly. On his first day at work, Zhou Zhonghai carried two ounces of tea leaves to pay a New Year's visit to the provincial governor.

On the first day back to work after the New Year holiday, Feng Shiguang was about to say goodbye to his colleagues and leave when Zhou Zhonghai blocked him in the office.

"Governor Feng, I went to great lengths to get two ounces of Qingming tea from Dashui Village, and I've come here especially to present it to you."

Zhou Zhonghai respectfully placed two ounces of tea leaves on the governor's desk.

"Zhou Zhonghai, you're quite proactive, aren't you? You're already giving gifts on your first day in office," Feng Shiguang chuckled.

"It takes someone who has been sleeping for over a year to realize how great work is," Zhou Zhonghai said seriously.

"Zhou Zhonghai, stop playing coy. You definitely didn't come here just to deliver tea."

"You guessed right, I'm here to ask for money," Zhou Zhonghai said straightforwardly.

"Zhou Zhonghai, the province will naturally support agricultural development and will provide funding. As for how much to allocate and how to distribute it, we will need to hold a meeting to discuss that."

"By the time you hold the meeting to discuss this, half a year will have passed. I have already gone to the countryside to investigate. Taking Tonggang County as an example, farmers need seeds, pigs, rabbits, and crops to grow, but they don't have the money to buy them. So, you have to give me 100,000 yuan first."

As soon as he finished speaking, Governor Feng slammed his hand on the table: "Zhou Zhonghai, you're asking for an exorbitant amount!"

"One county costs 100,000. Our province has 14 cities and 67 counties. If we develop them all at the same time, it would cost 6.7 million. Considering the tight budget, we'll start with Tonggang County first," Zhou Zhonghai said without hesitation.

"Are you crazy? What development? Have you seen the reform and opening-up documents? If the central government doesn't allocate funds, I'll risk my life to give you 670 million!"

"I've considered the province's difficulties, so I only need 100,000. Governor Feng, look at the other provinces, they're all taking action. We can't just sit idly by; we have to do something. Otherwise, while other provinces are getting rich and powerful, our province will still be dirt poor. How can you, as governor, have any face?"

"You, you... what does Committee Member Pu mean?"

"No, no, it has nothing to do with the old leader, it was my idea. When I returned to China last year, I went to Beijing first, and the old leader met with me. He only said one sentence: 'Zhonghai, go back to your hometown and do a good job. The country needs you,'" Zhou Zhonghai said earnestly.

Governor Feng scoffed dismissively, "What do you mean? It's just what Committee Member Pu means."

"Zhou Zhonghai, piglets can be bought on credit, rabbits can be bought on credit, and seeds can be bought on credit too. You can pay them back once you've sold the piglets. What do you need the money for?"

"Governor Feng, you may be shameless, but I can't be shameless. Ten thousand yuan is only part of the funds. We can't possibly extend credit for the whole amount, can we? Are you going to leave the comrades at the seed station and the livestock station starving?"

"You, Zhou Zhonghai, do you have any shame? On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, you came to me with only two ounces of tea leaves, asking for 100,000 yuan. Do you still have the nerve?" Feng Shiguang was so angry that his face turned pale.

"Governor Feng, it's all work, it's all work." Zhou Zhonghai said with a grin.

"You think you're the only one asking for money? If everyone came asking for 100,000, you might as well skin me alive."

"Governor Feng, this is my first day in office. Whether I can hold onto this position as Minister of Agriculture depends on you. If you don't support me, I'll go back to my old commander and go back to the army as a division commander." Zhou Zhonghai started to act shamelessly.

Feng Shiguang scratched his head and said angrily, "You submit the report, I sign it, but before the central government's document is officially issued, you better keep a low profile. If you cause any trouble, I'll drink your blood."

"Alright, if anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility. I've already died once, what's there to be afraid of?"

"You, you're a complete bandit."

"Then I won't bother you any longer, I have to go back to the department for a meeting."

"Get out, get out, take your two ounces of tea leaves with you and get out."

"No, please. Qingming tea is good for the eyes and calms the body. You're too hot-tempered."

Zhou Zhonghai bowed and scraped as he took his leave. Feng Shiguang stared at the packet of tea, growing angrier with each passing moment. Then he wondered, could it really help clear his eyes and calm his temper? He'd brew a cup and see…

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, who's going to hold a meeting? What a load of rubbish.

Zhou Zhonghai drove back to the Department of Agriculture and went straight to his office to write a funding application report.

You need money to get things done.

On his first day of registration, Zhou Zhonghai was greeted by Gu Quan, the minister's office secretary.

"Minister Zhou, hello!" Gu Quan didn't expect that Zhou Zhonghai would arrive on his first day of work.

Fortunately, he arrived at the office early in the morning, cleaned it, and prepared hot water.

"You are Koizumi?"

"Yes, I will be in charge of your work arrangements from now on."

"Okay, get me some stationery; I need to write a report."

"There's some letter paper in your drawer."

Gu Quan hurriedly stepped forward, opened the drawer, and found a thick stack of letters.

"How do I write a report to ask the Ministry of Finance for money?" Zhou Zhonghai may know how to fight, but he doesn't know how to write a report.

"Tell me how much money you need and what it's for? I can write it down."

"Not bad, not bad, Gu Quan, very good, promising. Governor Feng promised to give me 100,000 yuan, using Tonggang County in Huailin City as a demonstration site, for farmers to use as capital for raising pigs, chickens, ducks, and growing potatoes. You write it out, make it strong, and get the money from the Ministry of Finance within a week."

"Minister Zhou, you... you asked for 100,000 yuan on the first day?" Gu Quan found it unbelievable.

"Is that a lot?"

"Yes, no, no, it's very difficult. The province's finances are extremely tight. After the resumption of the college entrance examination, the focus of the budget was on education. Who cares about our Ministry of Agriculture? Even the former minister had difficulty getting 10,000 yuan."

Gu Quan was quite excited; 100,000 yuan at once could accomplish a lot.

"Agriculture should be the most productive sector for fiscal revenue, but due to too many regulations, farmers have nowhere to use their strength. Don't be fooled by the fact that I asked for 100,000 yuan; in reality, I still need to earn back 100,000 yuan for my reform plan to proceed. Otherwise, it will be difficult to get funding next year."

"Minister Zhou, you...you're under pressure too."

"As a minister, I'm not here to boast, but to take responsibility. Go ahead and write it, write something harsh, and get the money first."

"Yes, Minister."

Gu Quan went back to the secretary's office. Zhou Zhonghai took out a small packet of tea from his briefcase, smelled it, poured it into his teacup, brewed a cup of water, and muttered, "My in-laws didn't have an easy time getting this much tea, and they gave it all to Feng Shiguang. What a pity, what a pity..."

I took another sniff, then a sip, and it was so refreshing; it was indeed a fine tea.

On my first day at work, I couldn't get anything done except ask for money, so I might as well go back to the guesthouse and keep Meiyun company.

After drinking a few more sips of tea and preparing to go home, a middle-aged man wearing thick black glasses came in.

Holding a stack of documents, he bent down and said, "Minister Zhou, hello. I didn't expect you to come to work today."

"What's up?"

Zhou Zhonghai dislikes people who wear glasses, especially those with strong prescriptions and black glasses, because they tend to be stubborn and difficult to communicate with.

"Minister Zhou, I am Qiu Zhongyou from the Information Department of the Ministry of Agriculture. These letters are reports from various brigades across the province before the Lunar New Year regarding village groups engaging in unauthorized contracting. The previous minister had not yet had time to handle them. Do you think we should send some comrades down to investigate the situation?" Qiu Zhongyou said humbly.

Zhou Zhonghai casually picked up a letter, which was already opened, indicating that the comrades from the Information Department had already read it.

I glanced at it casually and saw that the brigade secretary had reported that the team leader ostensibly contracted out the work to the group, but in reality, he had contracted it out to individual households.

Zhou Zhonghai was secretly pleased. Wasn't this exactly what he was thinking? It seemed there were capable people below him.

How many such whistleblower letters are there?

"More than half of them, including some that have relaxed policies on pig and chicken farming."

"Okay, here's what you do. You carefully compile each letter, noting which city, county, village, whistleblower, and who was reported. Make a list for me, and I'll follow up on each one. Don't do anything today; the New Year isn't even over yet. We'll do it after the fifteenth."

Zhou Zhonghai handed the letter to Qiu Zhongyou and said solemnly.

"No, I'll go and summarize it now. Agriculture is a major issue. Those people down there are lawless. We need to correct the erroneous line of some comrades in time. Minister Zhou, it can be done in three days."

Qiu Zhongyou was radiant with pride after receiving Zhou Zhonghai's approval; it was time for him to shine.

"Alright, then thank you for your hard work, Lao Qiu."

"It's not hard work, it's not hard work."

The former Minister of Agriculture, upon learning of his impending transfer, deliberately ignored these whistleblower letters, leaving the new minister with a difficult problem.

Fortunately, the new minister is a decisive person, and he gave clear instructions on his first day at work.

Hehe, the future looks promising, the future looks promising indeed.